While at first glance they may seem like an unnecessary expense, the best pet water fountains are well worth investing in if your budget can stretch to it. If you find yourself struggling to get your fur friend to drink their daily intake of water for optimal health and wellbeing, then water fountain could help make your life easier.
While a portion of the best wet cat food or best wet dog food contains plenty of moisture, the same can't be said for kibble. Although the abrasive texture does a wonderful job of maintaining dental health, it's not ideal for the urinary tract and kidneys, both of which need a steady supply of fluid to flush toxins out of the body. If your kitty or canine prefers dry food, a pet water fountain can serve as a visual reminder to drink up.
You may, however, be wondering why you need a fancy fountain - after all, won't a simple bowl of water do the trick? Unfortunately many pet owners have found that the best cat food bowls and dog food bowls aren't as effective as a fountain when used as a water vessel and the reason for this is two-fold.
Firstly, most people place their pets food and water bowls beside each other, which dogs and cats really don't like. In the wild, animals like to keep their kills well away from their water source so that it doesn't get contaminated and the same is true of our domestic fur friends. That's why you can put down all the fresh water you want and your pet will still head for the nearest water puddle.
The second reason is that cats and dogs evolved to drink from free flowing rivers and streams, so they have a natural love of moving water. Still water has the potential to be stagnant and carry bacteria that could cause illness and this association is embedded into your pets DNA. Running water on the hand is viewed as fresh and clean, so a water fountain is more likely to entice your pet to drink.
On a practical note, a pet water fountain releases you from the drudgery of having to change your pet's water every day. Just as the best automatic pet feeders hold more food, a good water fountain tends to hold a lot more water (which makes it a lot harder to kick over than a water bowl), and it comes with a filtration system to remove dust, debris and bacteria, so the water stays fresh a lot longer, making it more hygienic and a lot less likely to make your pet unwell.
If you've decided to ditch the water bowl and opt for a pet water fountain instead, you'll find all our favorite picks below, including a range of different styles to suit every home.
PetsRadar's pick of the best pet water fountains
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Bring some harmony to your household with this pretty dog fountain, which has a yin and yang-inspired shape. The water spout is less like a fountain and more like a gentle trickle – instead of being ejected into the air, the water flows down a narrow channel into a generously-sized bowl.
The downside is that the spout isn’t the most accessible one we’ve seen, especially for smaller dogs and cats. On the plus side, Pioneer Pet gets a gold star for the ease with which this can be assembled, as well as the super strong suction cups – nothing’s worse than a full-to-the-brim pet fountain sloshing its way across a kitchen floor.
Catit's water fountains are inexpensive and do the job perfectly well, and the petal top on its popular Flower Fountain is about as iconic as you can get in the world of pet water fountains, as the image at the top of this guide amply demonstrates.
The LED Flower Fountain is a small but significant upgrade to the basic fountain, with some great new features. You still get Catit's triple action filter for keeping kitty's water clean and fresh, as well as that distinctive petal top, but this model also comes with a useful water level indicator that makes it much easier to tell when it's time for a refill, as well as a blue LED nightlight to make it easier for your cat to find its water in the dark (and to stop you kicking it over if you're wandering around the house in the night).
Catit has also added six water pockets to the top of the fountain, so even if it's turned off your cat will still be able to drink from it. And if you have a particularly fussy cat who's never been particularly keen on drinking from a fountain, this model has three water flow settings – gentle flow, bubbling top and calm streams – so that you can find the mode that kitty gets on with best; you can also twist and lift the flower top to increase the length of the water streams.
We've found with previous Catit fountains that the water pump can make a bit of noise, which can put some more nervous cats off at first. However if you keep the water level nice and high, this minimizes noise and makes the fountain much more agreeable to have around the house.
A brilliant option for small dogs and cats, this day-glo water fountain is ideal for the style-savvy pet owner. To start with, its spout is topped with a model of a butterfly, and the retina-burning shade of turquoise offers a welcome alternative to the varying shades of grey used for many pet fountains.
Four-legged friends won’t need to form an orderly queue, either – four water spouts make it easy for multiple animals to rehydrate simultaneously, although you can also pop off the butterfly topper to create a single water spout. Cleaning this fountain is also incredibly easy – simply take it apart and place the plastic pieces in the dishwasher. The pump needs a quick manual clean twice a month.
Say hello to the classy and quiet Pure Drink pet fountain from PETKIT. With an almost silent pump that stays below 30db and low energy consumption, it’s the best fountain for 24/7 use.
With a circulation system that provides maximum oxygenation for fresher, tastier water and triple filtration to ensure the water is always clean and drinkable, this simplistic and stylish water fountain will be a hit with both your furkids and you.
The LED indicator light gives you a visual reminder of the fountain’s working status and there’s a choice of smart or normal modes. Available in three colors and powered with a USB cable, this model offers outstanding value for money.
A brilliant option for discerning doggies and cosseted cats, this hi-tech water fountain does it all – there are multiple settings (the one you’re most likely to settle on is smart mode, which works on a five-minute cycle, welling up every three minutes before a two-minute rest), a noise-minimizing pump (it produces less than 40db per 50cm radius) and what’s known as an ion-exchange resin, which helps to de-ionize the water.
Whether your pet will notice this particular benefit remains to be seen, but two features which definitely earn this fountain some brownie points are the alerts – the light which appears when the filter needs changing, and the alarm which sounds when the water needs topping up.
If you're the proud pet parent to both dogs and cats, then this stainless steel water fountain is well worth considering. With a generous 3.2 L capacity, you can rest assured that your fur friends will always have access to fresh water whenever they need it.
Equipped with an activated carbon filter and pre-filter sponge, the double filtration system does a great job of keeping the water clean and fresh, and they dynamic design comes with faucet and spring surge modes which match the drinking habits your pet would have had if they were living in the wild.
The 1.5W pump is super silent when running, coming in at under 20db, so you're guaranteed to get a good night's sleep even if you leave it running 24/7. It's also easy to clean, either by hand or in the dishwasher.
A great fountain for pets who need a little encouragement to drink enough water, but who might be unnerved by hi-tech fountains which flash, beep and vibrate, this minimalist model might not nab first place in the looks department, but it does what it says on the tin – ensuring your pet has an easily accessible, constant flow of filtered water.
Its low profile and dog bowl-inspired shape are less likely to unsettle dogs and cats, although our one gripe is the positioning of the pump – despite the deepness of this fountain’s bowl, the hardware has been placed near the rim, which means you’ll need to keep a close eye on water levels to ensure it doesn’t run dry.
This bucket-style fountain is great for larger dogs, especially ones with mobility issues. This is because the water isn’t emitted in the form of a vertical jet, but a gentle stream which swirls around the fountain’s raised platform, before draining away down the sides.
In other words, there’s a constant, gently-swirling pool of water for pets to sip from, and with a six-liter capacity, you won’t need to refill it regularly.
Which is especially handy with this model, because the one major downside is the inability to monitor water levels – unlike most water fountains, there’s no open bowl area, so you’ll only know when it’s time to refill once the water runs out.
Stylish and affordable? It doesn't get much better than that and the NPET water fountain definitely delivers on both. With a classy and modern clear design that will encourage your feline friend or small canine companion to drink up and alert you to when the fountain needs filling again, plus a generous 1.5 L capacity, this model ticks all the boxes.
The faucet is adjustable, so you have the option of going taller or shorter depending on the size of your pet by simply adding or removing the middle component, and given that it doesn't come with a wall plug and instead operates off of an adapter or power bank, it can be easily placed in any part of the room.
Featuring a triple layer filtration system, the sponge catches hair and debris, the ion exchange resin layer softens the tap water and the activated carbon layer removes bad taste and odor to ensure your pet has only the freshest and cleanest water at their disposal.
How to choose the best pet water fountain
Although many water fountains for pets have similar features, our research proved that certain ones are invaluable – the best ones are easy to dismantle and clean, simply because it’s all too easy to underestimate the pump and filter-clogging capabilities of pet saliva, dander and fur.
A device designed to keep water levels topped up also needs some level of stability. With lighter models, grip patches on the base will often be enough to keep the water fountain in place, but with heavier fountains, nothing beats a set of suction cups.
It’s also important to bear in mind that the most common reason people invest in a pet fountain is because of the time it can save – constantly filling your pet’s bowl is thirsty work (excuse the pun).
This is precisely why we suggest looking for features designed to save time and minimize stress levels, whether it’s an alarm which sounds when water levels need topping up, a light which indicates the need for a replacement filter, or design which can be easily broken down into dishwasher-proof pieces.
